The Demanding Snake

For those readers familiar with the Snake River below Jackson Lake Dam, you know just how demanding a river it is to row. Floating on most of the stretches around here involves navigating your boat through significant elevation loss and numerous large log jams consisting of downed Cottonwood trees. Drifting this river, whether done from a driftboat, raft or canoe, requires not only good rowing skills, but a heightened awareness of your surroundings. Just earlier this season, two local anglers dumped their boats in log jams between Moose and Wilson. Both parties fortunately escaped without serious injury. Even though the river is running very low in volume right now (1,600 cfs at Moose), the danger is still there. While guiding today, my clients and I witnessed a canoe flip over on Deadman's to Moose, and its two older occupants get tossed in the river. We pulled our flies in, and I immediately rowed over to help. We got the couple to the bank and helped them out. I asked if they had floated this section before, and they said "No...why?". "Well", I said, "this section sees the most accidents of any section on this river. It loses a lot of elevation between Deadman's and Moose, and there are a ton of strainers. You have not even hit the maze yet, where most of the dangers are". They quickly asked, "What are strainers?". "Really", I thought to myself. I told the couple that if they had dumped their canoe into a strainer, they could have drowned. It turns out they never even saw or read the warnings at the Deadman's put-in. Pay attention people! On a lighter note, here is a great photo of my buddy John Holland with an absolute monster caught on the upper Smith River in Montana, near the Bar Z ranch. They're hitting hoppers right now hard. To learn more about this incredible fishery, visit Brian Hodges travel site at http:, //www.doublehaultravel.com click on the Bar Z Riverside Ranch.